Queenstown company Global Games has scooped two gongs for its national junior rugby festival at the New Zealand Event Awards. The company won ‘Sports Event of the Year’ and ‘Sustainable Event Initiative of the Year’ for the annual festival, which it has hosted in the resort since 2011, at a ceremony in Auckland last night. A statement by the NZ Events Association (NZEA) said the NZ Junior Rugby Festival was the “standout of the evening”, with the awards a “double recognition of both the scale of the festival and the sustainability practices built into its delivery”. The festival was also a finalist in the ‘Community Event of the Year’ category. Founded and operated by Tyrone Campbell, Global Games runs festivals and tournaments for children aged 7 to 16, mainly in rugby, rugby league, netball and football. The three-day NZ Junior Rugby Festival, which starts on August 28, is held at the Queenstown Events Centre — Global Games is also hosting the Kiwi Junior Rugby League Festival in the resort in October. Warbirds over Wānaka was named ‘NZ’s Favourite Event 2026’, which was decided by public vote, while the NZ Open golf tournament was a finalist in in the ‘Sports Event of the Year’ and ‘Major or Mega Event of the Year’ categories. — GUY WILLIAMS
